I find it awesome how many Internet tools we have nowadays at our disposal. You can do whatever you want online: meet friends, do business, learn, shop, and much more! I will never grow tired of discovering and exploring new opportunities Web 2.0 (and soon-to-be Web 3.0) offers to us. So in this post I am looking at social budget shopping and how we can save money with social media.

Some most useful Web 2.0 features mentioned below include:

Personalization: create your own pages, alerts, lists, etc;

Socialization: make new friends or share your shopping with your existing friends;

Publicity: you no more have to guess if the retailer is reliable or a product quality is high – get access to multiple user reviews or ask your friends for recommendations.

If you have a Visa or MasterCard, you’re eligible to receive discounts from a variety of vendors just for using that card? For example, with a Visa card you can get $10 off your purchase of $39.99+ at 1-800-Flowers by using the card and giving them code 42VISA? If you have a MasterCard, you can get $10 off a purchase of $39.99 at 1-800-Flowers by using the card and giving them code MAST33? Your card could be issued by Citi but as long as it has the Visa or MasterCard logo, it’s a Visa or MasterCard card and you’re eligible for these discounts. (American Express gets in on the 1-800-Flowers fun by giving you $10 off $34.99, just call it in and let them know, code AMX4)

Sometimes you can get better deals by going to deal hunting sites or sites that give you a kickback on your purchases (Fatwallet, Ebates), but these are good starting points.

I picked up a copy of Quicken last year to help with our family’s personal finances and perhaps assist in the accounting of my fledgling little business. This year, Quicken has released yet another version update, Quicken 2009 is slated for a September 10th release, and offered some handsome discounts for those looking to upgrade or use the software for the first time.

Quicken 2009 New Features

I’ve read people talk about how they hated all these yearly updates because they offered little in upgrades. Well, in scouring the web for more information, I stumbled on this job posting in which Intuit, makers of Quicken, is “planning a major redesign of the product, and we are looking for a senior user interaction designer for 6-9 month.” Who knows what that means though.

There are additional portfolio planning features added, a whole new help system (with screens for each page), as well as adding more banks to its system. Quicken 2009 will now interface with over 6,000 institutions from banks to brokerages to PayPal.

My girlfriend gave me a great idea the other day about how I should see if I still qualify for the Good Student Discount from Geico now that I’m back part-time at Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, I’m not. These are the rules for the Geico Good Student Discount (from the Geico Rate Class Explanation sheet):

GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT: Owners or operators who are age 16-24 and full-time students (including those in an academic home study program) may be eligible for this discount. The individual must be classified as a single or married male or a single female operator. Scholastic records for the immediately preceding school semester or quarter (or comparable segment) must show that each such operator was a full-time student and:

ranked scholastically among the upper 20% of the class, or

had a grade average of B or its equivalent, or

had an average of at least three points for all subjects combined, or its equivalent, or

was included in the “Dean’s List,” “Honor Roll,” or comparable listing for scholastic achievement, or

ranked in the upper 20% of one of the following national standardized tests administered within the past 12 months: PSAT, PACT, SAT-I, ACT, Iowa Test of Basic skills, California Achievement test, or TAP.

I don’t fit in the 16-24 age group so I’m disqualified on that account plus I’m not full-time, I’m only part time. Oh well, it was worth shot!